Latest Posts - Page 90 of 198

July 13, 2020July 8, 2020 A Positive Point-Of-View

Benefits Of Presentations – Worth The Stress

One of the scariest things many of us face in our jobs is getting up in front of a crowd. This situation may occur as part of presenting to our team, the management, or at a conference. There are benefits of presentations that outweigh the related stress and fear. Therefore, it is time to look at this black storm cloud and find the silver lining. A Focus On The Details Most of us stress the details for a presentation more than many other situations. Activities that demand detailed knowledge, including interviews and certification tests, force us to learn. However, there tends to be more structure to that knowledge in those cases than when we are presenting on an idea. We... Read more

July 10, 2020July 6, 2020 A Positive Point-Of-View

Performance Tuning Benefits – More Than The Obvious Points

There are countless performance tuning benefits. Well, maybe not countless, but there are a number of them that are readily apparent. However, the typical outcomes from a performance tuning project are just some of the upside to doing this work. There are many indirect silver linings of this black cloud. The process of improving performance can be daunting. Nevertheless, the ROI makes it all worthwhile. Learn From Challenges One of the best performance tuning benefits outside of a better running application is the process itself. We learn by being pushed beyond our limits. When we are asked to expend beyond what we know or have done, it causes growth. A steady stream of obstacles provides the bricks in the road... Read more

July 8, 2020July 5, 2020 A Positive Point-Of-View

The Benefits Of Planning

As annoying things go, planning is not at the top of the list. However, developers tend to feel they are most productive when they are writing code. Therefore, planning can be frustrating. It almost forces us to be patient and define an approach before getting to work. Nevertheless, there are many benefits of planning, and it is an easy topic for finding the bright side. Look Before You Leap Many wise words point to the benefits of planning. We may feel better in the short-term by stepping into implementation, but that can easily be overwhelmed by pain due to improper planning. We all work better when we have time to think through an approach. That is why things like panic... Read more

July 6, 2020July 4, 2020 A Positive Point-Of-View

The Positives From Meetings

Almost all Developers prefer to skip most meetings. These are not activities we tend to look forward to with joy. However, we can get positives from meetings. Not all of these activities are created the same. Nevertheless, an appropriate agenda and dedication to focus during this time can be very fruitful. An Agenda Is Critical There are many ways a meeting can go “off the rails.” That may be why we so often find meetings to be annoying, or at least time we cannot get back. We need focus if we want to receive positives from meetings. While we can have many goals for a meeting, maintaining focus is a common trait for success. This requirement is no different from... Read more

July 3, 2020June 27, 2020 A Positive Point-Of-View

The Positives of Grunt Work

Grunt work is often a significant portion of our job that makes it feel like “work.” It is not the fun part of our day. However, there are pros and cons to this well-known task. What is Grunt Work? Let’s start with a definition. Investopedia provides an excellent example. Grunt work is an expression used to describe thankless and menial work. Grunt work can also refer to jobs that lack glamour and prestige or are boring and repetitive. I think the keywords of “thankless” and “boring” are enough to provide the negatives for this type of work. However, we have a bright side we can focus on as well. A Refreshing Grunt I think about Tim Allen’s trademark grunting sound as part of this... Read more

July 1, 2020June 26, 2020 A Positive Point-Of-View

The Upsides of Niche Requests – Not All Outliers Are Bad

Outliers and niche requests can often push us over the line from a simple solution to a complex one. We commonly can get that eighty percent of the cases addressed in our initial code. However, an outlier gets into the far more difficult final twenty percent mentioned in the Pareto principle. These “new” requirements or missed details can cause headaches and missed deadlines. However, they have a bright side as well. A Stronger Solution First and foremost, the more cases our solution is tested against (and it supports), the stronger it is. In an extreme example, consider a calculator that only adds single-digit numbers. That is not very useful. It needs to handle a broader range of numbers and include... Read more